What do you use for a mountaineering journal?

[Thinker]

Insomnia struck this morning and I found myself pondering life's big questions...

 

What do you use for a mountaineering/climbing journal?

some type of bound book? any old scrap of paper? just your digital camera and TRs on cc.com?

 

And....do you tend to write in your journal while you're ON a climb, or do you wait until it's over?

[lummox]

i use the cc.com tr thingy.

[bDubyaH]

a write-in-the rain journal and a pencil. take a few loose pages to write-up a topo etc. while on a route

[thelawgoddess]

i don't really keep a journal so much as a log ... and i use one of those write-in-the-rain books. they are nice and small so don't seem like a burden to carry anywhere.

[Fromage]

I keep a notebook for a climbing log. It stays at home and I write in it when I return. I keep notes on where I went, when, what route, with who, which gear was used (track rope use), and a 1-2 page description of the outing. Makes a good reference.

[texplorer]

I have a small "drawing book" that I got a barnes and noble or some other such place on their bargain book rack. It's hardbound and has no lines so I can write, draw, etc. It's kinda heavy so I usually don't take it into the field but just record gear and route beta and copy topos to it later.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Dr. Flash Amazing finds those little check boxes next to the route names at the back of the SmithBible to do the trick, along with a brief notation of any relevant info. Usually the date and number of tries before success (unless it took too many tries to count), or whether it was a flash or onsight, or a TR or hangdog session on a route that is at present too hard or otherwise undesirable to send. Usually a scribble by the route description in the main part of the book if a route is extremely hard for the grade (or is a flat-out sandbag) or is total crap or something, too.

[Peter_Puget]

I never keep records myself but a couple of times I have contacted people out of the blue about routes they did back in the “Golden Age” of big walls and have been surprised that they sent me photo copies from fairly detailed journals. Same thing happened once before going to Zion years ago. I wonder what % of climbers actually maintains a fairly comprehensive journal.

[Greg_W]

I keep a notebook for a climbing log. It stays at home and I write in it when I return. I keep notes on where I went, when, what route, with who, which gear was used (track rope use), and a 1-2 page description of the outing. Makes a good reference.

 

This is what I do. An excerpt: "...tlg showed up to climb Angels Crest (5.10b) wearing those shiny black tights and a smile; I faked an injury so I could walk behind her on the approach..."

[cracked]

Digicam and UW server.

[Lowell_Skoog]

I use three-ring binders. I can insert hand-written notes, photocopies, printouts of emails or whatever in there. I'm on my seventh binder at this point and my journal contains over 1500 pages for thirty+ years of trips.

 

Usually I write my notes after I get home from a trip. But on longer trips I sometimes carry a 8.5" by 5.5" spiral notebook and write in it. When I get home I photocopy my notes out of the spiral book (which opens to 8.5" by 11"), three hole punch them, and put the copies in a three-ring binder.

[Alasdair]

Insomnia struck this morning and I found myself pondering life's big questions...

 

What do you use for a mountaineering/climbing journal?

some type of bound book? any old scrap of paper? just your digital camera and TRs on cc.com?

 

And....do you tend to write in your journal while you're ON a climb, or do you wait until it's over?

 

I have a whole pile of those nice yellow write in the rain notebooks, that I managed to get for free from this place I used to work. I think you know the ones I mean. They work pretty well.

[Thinker]

Thinker said:

Insomnia struck this morning and I found myself pondering life's big questions...

 

What do you use for a mountaineering/climbing journal?

some type of bound book? any old scrap of paper? just your digital camera and TRs on cc.com?

 

And....do you tend to write in your journal while you're ON a climb, or do you wait until it's over?

 

Alasdair said:

I have a whole pile of those nice yellow write in the rain notebooks, that I managed to get for free from this place I used to work. I think you know the ones I mean. They work pretty well.

 

Indeed I do. The 'write in the rain' notebooks are relatively cheap. it's the frickin' pens that are expensive.

[EWolfe]

Dr. Flash Amazing finds those little check boxes next to the route names at the back of the SmithBible to do the trick, along with a brief notation of any relevant info. Usually the date and number of tries before success (unless it took too many tries to count), or whether it was a flash or onsight, or a TR or hangdog session on a route that is at present too hard or otherwise undesirable to send. Usually a scribble by the route description in the main part of the book if a route is extremely hard for the grade (or is a flat-out sandbag) or is total crap or something, too.

 

I gotta tell ya, DFA, I am filling up the margins fast in that advance copy of the NEW EDITION, that I so fortuitously was able to acquire through my connections within the Central Oregon climbing community.

 

I dare say your copy must be taking a dog-ear or two, as well?

[iain]

that photo of sharma on heresy in the new book is hilarious!

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Ah, you must have missed the memo Mr. Watts sent out a while back. In an unprecedented merger of the Information Management and Biotechnology arms of AmazingCo, Inc., in conjunction with Alan Watts' peerless body of knowledge relating to Smith Rock, the entire tome has been physiopsychically implanted in Dr. Flash Amazing's capacious brain.

 

So now, rather than lugging about a bulky codex and having to weild a messy, unreliable writing implement to make notations therein, DFA is able to simply access the necessary data and modify it on the fly. You should try it; it's relatively inexpensive and almost totally faislslafee ... fssaflafes ... sailflafe ... failsafe failsafe failsafe.

 

It works pretty good.

[EWolfe]

Often, upon the gracious moments when I actually sight the elusive DFA, do I ponder upon his cranial capacity. It truly must only be rivaled in size by the Man Himself, Fred "BigHead" Nicole:

 

[erikn]

OK, I admit it. I am so nerdy-dorky that I keep records of all my climbs in a database. I use FileMaker, and can sort by location, date, rating, number of pitches, stars, etc. Its pretty useful for keeping beta for climbs I want to go back to, or to tell friends good climbs to do. And also fun sometimes to look back at all the stuff I've done.

 

Hmmm... maybe I should carry a Palm and make entries while climbing?

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

OK, I admit it. I am so nerdy-dorky that I keep records of all my climbs in a database. I use FileMaker, and can sort by location, date, rating, number of pitches, stars, etc. Its pretty useful for keeping beta for climbs I want to go back to, or to tell friends good climbs to do. And also fun sometimes to look back at all the stuff I've done.

 

Dorky maybe, but cool idea definitely. It is fun to look back and see how you've progressed and remember cool shit ya did, too.

[ken4ord]

Outside magazine it is the most comprehensive alpine journal that I know of.

[Greg_W]

Hmmm... maybe I should carry a Palm and make entries while climbing?

 

Bonus, dude!!! My Palm Tungsten E can create Excel spreadsheets and Word files. I can keep up my climb database AND write my trip report whilst on the trip!!! Or, make my partner drive home while I compose. Fuckin' technology is fuckin' awesome!!!!!